NHL Morning Rumor Mill – Monday, February 4, 2013.

Are the Capitals interested in Roberto Luongo? Could the Flyers pursue Jarome Iginla? Read on for the latest.

VANCOUVER PROVINCE: Ed Willes reports Vancouver Canucks GM Mike Gillis was spotted at Sunday’s Pittsburgh Penguins-Washington Capitals game, sparking rumors of the Canucks shipping goaltender Roberto Luongo to the Capitals, who’ve been struggling with Braden Holtby and Michal Neuvirth between the pipes. Willes noted the Capitals have three blue chip prospects in Evgeni Kuznetsov, Filip Forsberg and Tom Wilson. He doubts Capitals GM George McPhee would move them for a 33-year-old goalie carrying a lengthy, expensive contract like Luongo, speculating McPhee might have more interest in Cory Schneider.

WASHINGTON TIMES hockey columnist Stephen Whyno reports via Twitter: “#Caps have not have single conversation about Roberto Luongo with #Canucks. Any trade speculation is unfounded.”

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Who said they were interested in Luongo? OK, just kidding. Still, the fact Gillis and his assistant GM attended that game during a season when Western Conference clubs don’t play Eastern Conference teams means they could be scouting potential trade partners for Luongo. It should be noted the Canucks haven’t exactly been lighting up the scoreboard in the early going of this season, and with Ryan Kesler and David Booth sidelined by injury, they could be looking around for scoring depth. If the Capitals were interested in Luongo or Schneider, I daresay Gillis would want at least a second-line scorer who can help his club right now as part of the return. The Capitals have their own offensive woes, so there’s nothing on their current roster that could help the Canucks offense right now.

Could the Flyers pursue Jarome Iginla?

CSNPHILLY.COM: Tim Panaccio suggested the Philadelphia Flyers should consider acquiring winger Jarome Iginla from the Calgary Flames to bolster their sagging offense. Despite Iginla’s age (35), Panaccio feels he still has plenty left in the tank, plus wouldn’t be as expensive as Anaheim Ducks winger Bobby Ryan, who could cost Sean Couturier or Brayden Schenn or Claude Giroux. Panaccio believes the Flyers would have to place Chris Pronger and Matt Walker on LTIR to free up cap space for Iginla’s $7.5 million salary for this season.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: One tiny flaw in Panaccio’s argument is Iginla carries a full “no-movement” clause in his contract. He’d have to agree to be dealt to the Flyers, and at this early stage in the season, I doubt he would consider abandoning the Flames. Maybe Iginla thinks about moving on at the April 3rd trade deadline if the Flames are out of playoff contention, but by that point, it might be too late to help the Flyers. They’ll have to look elsewhere for scoring help.

MIAMI HERALD: George Richards reports Florida Panthers center Stephen Weiss wasn’t unaware his name was being bandied about on this Saturday’s Hockey Night in Canada telecast as a possible trade candidate. It’s been speculated Weiss is available, but Richards reports the Panthers have denied this, though contract talks between the center and the team could carry through the trade deadline.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The earliest I could see Weiss being dealt in late-March, and only if the Panthers are well out of the playoff race. If they’re still in the hunt by then, even if Weiss remains unsigned, they won’t move him.

CALGARY SUN: Wes Gilbertson reports the return of veteran defenseman Anton Babchuk creates a logjam on the Flames already crowded blueline. The club would entertain offers for a defenseman.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Forget about Jay Bouwmeester, Mark Giordano, Dennis Wideman or TJ Brodie. If the Flames decide to move a blueliner at this point in the season, Babchuk (despite his “no-trade” clause) could be a candidate, as could Chris Butler, Cory Sarich or Derek Smith.

STARTRIBUNE.COM: Michael Russo reports the Minnesota Wild have begun shaking up their lineup by calling up promising forward Charlie Coyle, which could be seen as delivering a message to struggling forward Devin Setoguchi and Mikael Granlund. Russo noted Setoguchi has been the subject of trade rumors.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Wild certainly won’t trade Granlund, who’s only a rookie and struggling to adjust to the NHL pace. Setoguchi, on the other hand, has been a disappointment with the Wild, and could continue to be a subject of trade chatter.

46 Comments

bruinnyandthejets
on February 4, 2013 at 2:51 pm

Would love to see the Jets acquire Setoguchi especially if they send Schieflie back to Barrie.

Luongo
He will never waive his no trade to go to a team that is now worse than the Leafs and Panthers..WHY???
Luongo wants to win now….. BIGTIME !! This is not going to happen…it’s just not the right fit for him at all!!

At this time it makes more sense to trade prospects for prospects …George McPhee is desperate Schneider will not help that team any more than the tandem he has ….McPhee would benefit from adding the players hes going to trtade to the line up than a goalie at this time !! He needs scoring and players who are looking to play with desperation whcih I dont see from this club ….GOOD LUCK McPhee but you need better players not another goalie !!!!

Id take Holtby in a New York minute along with some youth for Schneider great score for Gillis !!!

WILD
Oh ….the IRONY ….Ive ben talking about Charlie Coyle all week last week …..especially for the leafs to aqcuire this guy ……..and even offered up the Hockey futures link for you who wish to investigate he is a great bright spot on the Wild and would be a perfect future #1 centerman….

Calgary
Ive also been talking about a Calgary – Flyers deal for a year now as well!! …one thing about this site …just let people give ther input and share there beliefs without cutting them down it makes for better conversation and more fun to just listen and get along !!
I see Kipper more of a deal here than Iginla !!

Iginla is born and raised on the west coast ..I doubt he will waive hi NMC to go to an eastern team …especially with the Sharks , Canucks and maybe even the Ducks or Kings knocking at the door at trade deadline …he will most likely be a rental !!

He will retire a Flame !!

Once Luongo is traded …Jay Feaster will be the most poular man in Hockey …and should get ready for the on slot of calls for Kipper as he will own the market !!

Icebear
on February 4, 2013 at 5:17 pm

Bryz has played great, hard to see how Philly would be after kipper instead of iggy. They can join 28 other teams who would also like iggy in the end tho.

kdawg
on February 4, 2013 at 10:13 pm

Flames trade Iggy at the deadline, he plays for a contender and Flames get a good prospect, Flames sign Iggy in the off season as he is UFA.

Boother
on February 5, 2013 at 4:37 am

@kdawg
From a Flames fan commenting here, I agree with your suggestion. I feel he deserves a real chance to hoist a cup and unfortunately for myself and other Flames fans…its just not realistic to think it will happen in Calgary…but if he is traded, I hope he would resign in Calgary so he could retire there. Class act but slowin down.

Boother
on February 5, 2013 at 4:42 am

@backchecking
I agree with your comment about us having civil conversations on this site, we’ll said.
Not sure if you meant the part about Iginla being born and raised on the West Coast, he was born in Edmonton and raised there too…not quite the coast but Western Canada forsure…sorry to nit pick…

MJR I
on February 4, 2013 at 3:51 pm

Perrault could statistically play 2nd line. He, a prospect, and Holtby could go the Nucks direction. But then the Superbowl was about to be played and maybe they were going to that, too, so they decided to check out this game for kicks.

@TSNBobMcKenzie: Oh, yeah, for conspiracy theorists, WSH isn’t talking to VAN, has no plans to talk to VAN on any goalie. BTW, VAN isn’t trading Schneider.

Uncle Slavko
on February 4, 2013 at 5:59 pm

How about Iggy to the Sharks for Clowe and, say Wingels at the trade deadline. Sharks could really use a hardnose, scoring winger like Iginla to give them some grit going into the playoffs. They also have a plethora of young D-men, so Clowe with his speed issue may not be the right trade bait….

Boother
on February 5, 2013 at 4:44 am

Im not sure SJ would part with Clowe, perfect playoff type player…on another note, Clowe plays extremely well against the Flames so that suggestion wouldn’t necessarily hurt the Flames…

Leafs hater
on February 4, 2013 at 6:03 pm

Backchecking

You know nothing!! Washington needs a goalie just like the leafs and someone will come calling for luongo.. He’s just expensive and worth it!!

Hawks4life
on February 4, 2013 at 6:03 pm

Iggy would look good playing along side Toews and Hossa. Chi has enough prospects and picks available to make a deal. Any deal could involve cash staying or going now so anything is possible.

Boother
on February 5, 2013 at 4:46 am

If that trade happened, Iginla would probably pop Kane in the mouth the first minute he seen him…then during the first game he’d fight for Kane.

LeafsAdvocate
on February 4, 2013 at 6:14 pm

Seriously though, Gillis now knows that he has to keep Luongo. He now knows that Schneider isn’t either; ready to be the #1 or isn’t a #1 goaltender they thought. Based on that, I believe Gillis was at the Pitt vs Was game to scout Backstrom. As Backstrom is a Swede and could very well work wonders with the Sedin’s and might have to pull a 3-way-trade to make something happen. Not because I am a Leafs fan, but I can see something like this going down:

Toronto gets their centerman and a better goalie. Vancouver gets…well…Backstrom. Washington gets a goaltender, Booth, good 2-way winger in Kulemin and a 1st rounder. lol, how is that for lousy arm-chair GM’ing? lol

Thats a silly proposal on so many levels, and Burrows plays RW/LW he wouldn’t be the center Leafs are looking for, and Backstrom wouldn’t play with the twins unless he replaces H.Sedin on that line lol do you even watch hockey?

And how do you figure we trade Booth, Burrows, Schnider and Schroeder with a 1st and 2nd lol and Leafs throw in spare parts Bozak, Kostka and Reimer… also Washington would want a upgrade in net if they were to deal for a goalie, not Reimer. Just another delusional Leaf fan fantasizing of how to build a good team by throwing in all the useless Leaf players in trade talks not even concerning the Leafs lol. Trade Rejected.

CanucksOwn
on February 4, 2013 at 8:57 pm

and then you say Leafs getting ripped off lmao

LeafsAdvocate
on February 4, 2013 at 11:19 pm

Lets see…I didn’t say anywhere that Vancouver would be trading Schneider or any goalie. As for Backstrom with the Sedins, Henrik can easily play wing and probably would flourish better. lmao…and all I said I was doing was throwing a “lousy arm-chair GM’ing”.

As for what Vancouver would have to give up, based on cap hit, Vancouver would have to give up a 1st, 2nd and 3rd. And based on cap hit, Burrows is only worth (this season) a 2nd round pick. While Booth is only worth a 1st and a 3rd. So Booth and Burrows alone are only worth Backstrom! Staying with cap hit worth, Bozak is worth a 2nd, and Reimer a 2nd, Neuvirth a 3rd…while Schroeder and Kostka aren’t worth any picks. So basing cap hits, would this look more better in LOUSY ARM-CHAIR GM’ING?

just stop please. you make leaf fans look like complete retards! why would a trade like that happen? let alone with the leafs??? we would get next to nothing for every player you mentioned. Start adding names like gardiner, reilly, percy etc if you think your going to get anything back.

Captain Ahab
on February 4, 2013 at 6:52 pm

I don’t think the Capitals are looking at either Luongo or Schneider. In fact I still believe the Canucks are shopping Mason Raymond and there is a possibly that both Chris Higgins and Jannik Hansen are on that list as well. Raymond and Higgins are left wingers who can score and both are UFA’s at the end of the season.
On the outside as far as chances go they could also be looking at Brooks Laich, who while turning 30 this summer could provide a harder presence on left wing than Mason Raymond, but wouldn’t fit under their cap without moving close to $3 million in salary.
Three Capital players we know will not be moving to the Canucks are Ovechkin, Backstrom and Ribeiro as they just don’t have the cap space. Another one that will be a non starter in any trades will be Mike Green and his more than $6 million contract.
Who else the Canucks might be looking at I won’t even hazard a guess but I do know that they want to get younger as well as start preparing for the day when the Sedins say good bye so maybe they could offer some players and try to get an up and comer in the deal going back to them.

CanucksOwn
on February 4, 2013 at 9:11 pm

As it stands, Canucks are 4 million under the cap if Kesler returns in 2-3 weeks and Booth stays on IR for 5-6 weeks. At the trade deadline that 4 million cap space could be a contract like Ovechkins 9 million, and dont forget Luongo’s 5 million contract off the books if/when we trade him… contrary to some belief Canucks have planty of flexibility in terms of cap space. And Raymond is playing for a contract this year, if Gillis didnt trade him when he had buyers when Raymond wasn’t playing good, theres no way their trading him when his value is at its lowest and hes been playing well

Captain Ahab
on February 4, 2013 at 9:39 pm

Just because a team could afford Ovechkin does not mean that Washinton will trade him.
If Washington is looking to shake up their line up and get some more speed and scoring Raymond could work out quite well. Seeing as he is going into UFA status come the summer the Canucks just may figure the time is right to move him to another organization. That goes for Higgins as well. Raymond does in fact have value with his speed and proven goal scoring ability and could well be attractive to a team that is having problems.
The Canucks need goal scorers and even with Kesler a few weeks away they still need to put pucks in the net instead of just relying on Luongo to keep them out.
Finally. there is no guarantee that Luongo will be moved prior to the end of the season and possibly even during the summer. Who knows, especially with the way he has been playing lately.

Dave
on February 4, 2013 at 7:15 pm

Caps need more than a goalie the way they are playing.
Maybe something big like ovechkin.

Captain Ahab
on February 4, 2013 at 7:27 pm

The way he has been playing for the last …oh, year or two…who would want him?
There used to be a big debate over who was the best Ovechkin or Crosby, it looks like that argument has been shelved for now. They should start talking about Ovechkin vs Malkin. Even though he can appear disinterested at times Malkin is the better player at this time.

Liddy5
on February 4, 2013 at 7:52 pm

Malkin has cleary shown the past 3 years that he’s better and more consistent than Crosby.

Ovechkin scored 38 goals last year without a centre. The guy is still a premier winger, just having a rough go.

Captain Ahab
on February 4, 2013 at 9:48 pm

Ovechkin is getting paid $10 million a year and hardly giving the Capitals even 10 dollars worth of effort. He is out of position so often that players, even a premier center, wouldn’t even know where to pass it to.
In the final minute of the game the other night with the Washington goalie pulled he circled the next…twice and then with players who were in a better position to shoot decided to make a low percentage, cross ice pass that was easily tipped out of the zone and ended any chance the Capitals had of tying the game. Then in the next game with time running out and Washington down a goal and about to get a penalty he gets a roughing penalty that ends any chance of a Washington come back. All this from the captain of the team and a $10 million dollar player. That’s not having a rough go, that’s playing with his head up his ass.

Seems to Me Theodore did just fine getting Panthers into the playoffs last year ….Vokun is stellar in Pitt right now ..Varlomov is key for the AVS with all there injuries and Holtby last year carried this team on his back with OVECHKIN laying an egg into the playofs ….I KNOW NOTHING …

Vancouver wins two Presidnet Trophys….. a Jennings trophy and two most Valuable player trophies
( 2 players ) …and your telling me Luongo is going to score goals and help the Caps team when they don’t even have half the talent Vancouver does …..yeah its goaltending !!

See how stellar Luongo is on that team …you ll be telling me in a month with Luongo on the Caps they need goaltending then too ….give your head a shake!!

Joel ward has 4 goals and Ribeiro 10 pts as they lead the team almost everyone else has….. NO GOALS !!!

Yeah its goaltending !!
Give ME A BREAK BUDDY !!!

nitroglycerin101
on February 4, 2013 at 8:54 pm

Tim Panaccio and his “news/ideas”
Guy is a clown.

moegillknee
on February 4, 2013 at 9:52 pm

the caps are going through a bad stretch with yet again a new coach (adam oates).playing ovechkin with a couple of third liners is not going to help get him going . they have the talent to turn it around and make the playoffs .their goalies are only as good as the team in front of them . and holtby is their guy .he is the reason they traded varlamov and he proved it in the playoffs last year.they could use some new blood another winger or centerman. they need to get their pp going again . they have some quality prospects in forsberg kusnetov and orlov and could get a big time young player(patrick kane ) back in return .
with the lockout some teams have not got it going yet and are playing them selfs into game shape and the goalies are taking the heat .
i dont think there is that much of a market for trading luongo or kipper right now ,probably in the offseason .there is always a deal for a good goalie cheaper then what those two might demand on the market . vancouver should just keep the two of them this season anyway .schnieder will get his chance to establish himself as the guy eventually.

MJR I
on February 4, 2013 at 10:17 pm

Ovechkin’s just not as quick as he used to be. Not only is he slower with his feet, he’s slower with his hands. He also doesn’t throw those explosive hits he used to.

If I was Leonis Id just come straight out and ask Ovechkin ……if we rip up the contract and you sign a contract that you will not come back to the NHL and we retain your rights if you do …….I will let you go play where you want to play…. …in Russia ……..so you can get married have a family and be with mommy and daddy and your car collection!!

My first thought as a Pens reporter was it could be possible Gillis was there to see Pens too. Ray Shero is recently reported to want a rights-controlled young winger to eventually put with Crosby, Zack Kassian would fit the bill. Plus he’s a power forward, much like one of Sid’s best linemates Ryan Malone. (Boychuk BTW was for Malkin’s line.)

The Pens have a few forwards they could work around if traded away, and that may interest VAN needing offensive help without Kesler. Tyler Kennedy and Pascal Dupuis were my thought.

Shero also somewhat interested in some more defense, and has already pursued him Dan Hamhuis, once acquiring his rights before. And PIT does have the salary space for him, if VAN could get his NTC waived.

Jared
on February 5, 2013 at 2:21 am

Um…not to be overly obtuse or anything…but has anyone actually gotten anything resembling confirmation that Gillis was scouting the Caps and not the Pens? The Caps claim they’re not talking to Vancouver about anything at the moment…which may or may not be true…but it’s no secret the Pens have depth problems on the wing, and the Canucks have six forwards on their current roster who will be unrestricted free agents this summer, with another two who’ll be restricted. They also have three D-men who’ll be UFAs this summer, with another one who’ll be an RFA. If I’m Gillis…yeah, resolving the Luongo situation is a priority…but I’d also love to reduce my free agent re-signing workload by trading a pending UFA or two for some people who are signed past this season.

LeafsAdvocate
on February 5, 2013 at 2:50 am

Okay, Vancouver has $840K in salary cap space. Pittsburgh has $8.5M in available cap space. So Pittsburgh aren’t to worried about trade cost…really. But they can’t be trading partners, unless Pittsaburgh would be willing to take salary back. I think Toronto and Pittsburgh should work together, as Toronto has many RW’s and Pittsburgh has a goalie and maybe a C. Anyway, continuation of my crappy lousy arm-chair GM’ing:

Neal is a big power winger that Toronto needs, Kessel is a goal scorer that could fit Pittsburgh. Kulemin regularly plays RW, even though he is registered as a LW, and Kulemin has good ties with Malkin. Bozak is like Crosby, a good faceoffman which is a very sold + for Pittsburgh. Sutter doesn’t look like he’s panning out in Pittsburgh so Bozak easily replaces him. Scrivens will make for a very fine backup for Fleury.

dan
on February 5, 2013 at 3:02 am

leafsAdvocate…..please just stop….just read the article and stop with the pipe dream trade scenarios…..why would Pitt make this trade? neal for kessel? Kessel is a UFA at seasons end, he’s going to sign with anyone but toronto….and pitt is going to trade a cap friendly beats like neal???

LeafsAdvocate
on February 5, 2013 at 3:31 am

Suck my left nut!

Jared
on February 5, 2013 at 3:57 am

Dan, I agree completely. Neal is signed for I think 5 years after this one, at a pretty reasonable $5 million per (at least it’s pretty reasonable for 40 goal scorers). Kessel has never broken 40 goals and, as you note, is a pending UFA. Neal has an established ability to play with Malkin…none of the players who would be coming back would have that. Vokoun was specifically brought in to be two things: (1) a viable backup to keep Fleury from having to play 70 games in the regular season, and (2) a viable backup to turn to if Fleury has a rough plaoyff. Scrivens is neither of those things. Sutter was the one piece of the Staal trade that Ray Shero absolutely insisted upon getting. He’s doing just fine as the #3 center, thank you very much, and even if he weren’t, no way Shero is giving up on him 9 games into his time with the team. In short…none of the three players that the Pens would give up in this scenario have any chance of being dealt at this point…and none of the four who would be coming back would serve the Pens’ needs.

LeafsAdvocate
on February 5, 2013 at 4:26 am

Thanks for providing a detailed understanding of why it won’t happen. I know that my previous post was rude towards ‘don’, but I think that ‘don’ could of come off better at explaining why that trade scenario won’t happen. And I’m not looking for any side-taking with regards to my or ‘dons’ posts. At the same time, I was throwing things out there and knowing that they are/were likely beyond ridiculous…and I have clearly stated that when I said “continuation of my crappy lousy arm-chair GM’ing”.

Jared
on February 5, 2013 at 4:15 am

Now that we’re on topic…there are some forwards that do seem like “Shero trades” (i.e. younger forwards with skill, but who for whatever reason aren’t reaching their full potential where they are and who therefore should be available at a reasonable price…like Neal was). Players like Devin Setoguchi, Ryane Clowe, Chris Stewart, and Mason Raymond spring to mind.

moegillknee
on February 5, 2013 at 4:14 am

a more reasonable trade between the pens and leafs would be kulemin and a c quality prospect (or colton orr)for simon despres and dustin jeffrey .
pitt is deep in dmen in the minors
leafs could send komisarek to play shinney with tim connolly and replace him with despres now and jeffrey could get more playing time as a top nine forward
the only leaf line scoring is kulrmins so i dont know if leafs want to trade him right now but they need dmen who can play defence first and simon depres has some up side at 21yrs old

Jared
on February 5, 2013 at 4:23 am

Kulemin’s consistency…or total lack thereof…would scare me if I were Shero. Starting in the 2009-10 season, he scored 16G in 78GP, then 30G in 82GP in 2010-11, then 7G in 70GP last year. Not that he’s a bad player necessarily because of that…and there are good years and bad years for a lot of players. But I’d be very cautious about what I give up for him because of the big jumps/drops in production, and if I’m convinced that Despres will be a top 4 D-man, I might not be anxious to trade him away for that return.

LeafsAdvocate
on February 5, 2013 at 4:28 am

True, but no one can deny his 2-way (200ft) play. He backchecks and forechecks like a strongly taught Canadian.

moegillknee
on February 5, 2013 at 4:38 am

i think wilson screwed up his confidence , he would be a very good fit with malkin and neal
and the pens have joe morrow and derrick pouliot as high skilled dmen coming up too in the next year might not be room for them . pens can be patient but want to put the best team they can this year for cup run but then again depres could be used in a trade for a winger for crosby

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